Neoquest II: A Beginner's Guide

Introduction

Welcome to Neoquest II! If you thought the first version of this game was a breeze, you're in for a rude awakening. NQ II is bigger and badder than its predecessor with all new monsters, NPC's (Non-Player Characters), weapons, and companions! ...Er, sorry about that. I just felt the urge to scare you. It isn't that bad!

Controls & Instructions

The game is divided into 3 difficulties: Normal, EVIL, and InSaNe! In Evil, the cost of items increases along with the HP of monsters and bosses. InSaNe is even harder because along with another heavy increase in cost and HP of monsters, if you die you are returned to the beginning of the game, so be very careful. To play on a certain difficulty, you must beat the one before it (except for Normal of course).

You play Rohane, a young Blumaroo from Meridell. It is quite easy to control him; just use the Nav Pad on your right. Very self-explanatory: it will move you one space in the direction you choose. Unlike NQ I, you only have two modes of traveling. Traveling in normal mode you will encounter an average amount of enemies, and in Hunting mode, you will find enemies more often. I recommend to use Hunting mode if you are training.

Another difference between NQ I and NQ II is that you will use more than one character! This is mainly because you could be attacked by four monsters at a time. You can pick up Mipsy (White River City), Talinia (Mountainside Inn), and Velm (Waset Village) at their respective locations. For the most part, Rohane will be your most constant attacker; Talinia will be a less powerful constant (possibly attacking the whole enemy group); Mipsy will use magic to speed up your party, slow down your opponent, and deal big damage; and Velm will be your group healer. Just in case you don't completely understand this yet, I will go more in-depth...now!

Tips & Strategies

Skills

This is probably the most important aspect of the game. If you don't choose the right skills, you are going to have a very difficult time beating the game. I will list possible skills for each character and add some notes (basically the general accepted opinion =P) for each one. Each skill has 15 levels, so when I say "maxing out", it means take it to level 15.

Rohane

Critical Attacks

A must-have skill. A critical hit will deal more damage than a normal one. You should max out this skill by the end of the game.

Damage Increase

The most important skill for Rohane. This is one of the first you should max out because it allows you to do more damage. Obvious, huh?

Combat Focus

Pretty useless. It just raises Rohane's defensive ability, even though he is pretty strong. Don't spend points on this.

Stunning Strikes

Another must-have. This will temporarily stun your opponents and stop them from attacking. You should max this out eventually, also.

Battle Taunt

Makes the enemies focus on Rohane instead of weaker party members. It is a decent skill, only worth a few points though.

Innate Magic Resistance

Resistant to magic spells like slowing down and direct damage. Should have several points in this at the END of the game.

Innate Melee Haste

Speeds you up. Great skill. Again, invest several points in this, having it close to maximum.

Mipsy

Direct Damage

Can deal 100-damage to a single opponent when maxed out. You should either max out either this or the next skill. You can complete the game with either.

Group Direct Damage

Can deal 64-damage to each opponent maxed out. (64-damage x 4 opponents = 256-damage) This is a much slower attack than DD. Probably best to max this out first in Normal mode.

Group Haste

Speeds up your party. I love this skill, because you don't have to waste potions. Should get close to maxing it out.

Slowing

Decent skill. It slows down your opponents (duh!). I'd actually prefer potions here because they are much stronger.

Damage Shields

When physically attacked, your opponent will receive some damage as well. Not too great since a lot of opponents use magic and are unaffected.

Innate Melee Defense

Mipsy has low HP so this is a good skill to defend her. Max it out.

Innate Casting Haste

Same effect as with Rohane.

Talinia

Increased Bow Damage

Just like Rohane's damage increase. Max it out immediately!

Shockwave

An amazing skill! Similar to Rohane's stunning strike but this could stun all opponents. Not many bosses are resistant to it. You should max it out after IBD.

Ranged Attacks

Delays enemy action after being targeted by it. It's useful because Talinia is often targeted by enemies. It works whether they miss or not. Spend some points here if you don't want to spend them on Shockwave.

Slowing Strikes

The amount of slowing isn't large enough to compete with potions. Ignore this skill.

Multiple Targets

I like Mipsy's DD because Talinia has this skill. Maxed out and with a strong weapon, this can deal 100-damage per enemy by the end of the game. Definitely get this!

Innate Magic Resistance

Same as Rohane's.

Innate Melee Haste

These innates are quite repetitive, no?

Velm

Healing

Don't even look at it, skip to next skill.

Group Healing

AMAZING SKILL. Max this out first. Maxed out, it can heal your party for 90-HP. This skill will make healing potions obsolete.

Celestial Hammer

Maybe spend a few points here, just for fun. It damages and stuns your opponents, except many enemies and bosses will start to become resistant to it.

Mesmerization

This is a really fun skill. Stuns the targeted enemy for up to 30 seconds or until the enemy is hit. Not terribly helpful; I prefer Celestial Hammer.

Group Sheilding

This is a pretty helpful skill. It increases the melee defense and magic defense of all party members. Really helpful against the final boss.

Innate Magic Resistance

Same as above.

Innate Casting Haste

Gah, again?!

Acts

As I previously stated, the game is divided into five acts: Meridell, Terror Mountain, Lost Desert, Haunted Woods, and Faerieland respectively. The acts each become more difficult. They also have an 'act boss', just a term for the final boss at the end of each act. The final boss in Faerieland is the last boss of the game and once you beat him, you win. You also get a fancy video without sound after the completion of each act!

Fighting

It should be pretty easy to understand, but I'll have a screenshot just in case.

This of course is not a complete battle screenshot, as it was taken from the beginning of the game. The red box is where all the Magic Spells and Extra Attacks will go, once you have those skills. Attacks such as DD or haste will go here, for example. In the purple box (it will be expanded) will be the list of all your potions. Very simple, sorry you had to use your imagination for some of it.

Boss Strategy

Your battle from boss to boss will vary, but there is a specific pattern you should use to win. Use the first turn or so to speed up your party (if possible) and slow your opponent (again, if possible). For very difficult bosses like Hubrid Nox and Terask, make sure they are constantly slowed. Have Rohane use his melee attack, Mipsy use DD or GDD (if possible), Talinia use melee also since group attack is pointless (if possible), and have Velm group heal when necessary (do I need to say it again?). Use that and you are sure to win!

Rewards & Prizes

These prizes are a bit better than NQ I. Click on the image to see the weapon at the Battlepedia!

Normal Difficulty

Bronze Trophy, 10,000 NP, and one of the following items:

Rohanes Armour Polish

Mipsys Charm Bracelet

Talinias Whittling Knife

Velms Healing Potion

EVIL Difficulty

Silver Trophy, 30,000 NP, and one of the following items:

Halo of Devilpuss

Scuzzys Comb

Ramtors Spellbook

Tooth of Terask

InSaNe Difficulty

Gold Trophy, 50,000 NP, and one of the following items:

Bow of Destiny

Staff of Righteous Fury

Sword of Apocalypse

Wand of Reality

Conclusion

For maps of the lands, check out this guide . Neoquest II is a time-consuming game, but can be fun once you get the hang of it. Now, go forth, build your party, and slay all the monsters in the land!